positioned under authority

Posted on January 28, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

marmsky devotions pics January 2017 (28)

HOW TO GET THE JOB DONE

Luke 7:1-10

Luk 7:1 Since he had finished all his sayings to that audience, he entered Capernaum.
Luk 7: 2 A centurion there had a bond-servant who was highly valued, but who was sick and at the point of death.
Luk 7: 3 When the centurion heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders to him, asking him to come and heal his bond-servant.
Luk 7:4 When they came to Jesus, they encouraged him seriously, “He is worthy to have you do this for him,
Luk 7:5 because he loves our nation, and even built our synagogue.”
Luk 7:6 So Jesus went with them. When he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to say to him, “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof.
Luk 7:7 That is why I did not presume to come to you. Instead, say the word, and my servant must be healed.
Luk 7:8 Because I too am a man positioned under authority, with soldiers under me. I say to this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my bond-servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
Luk 7:9 When Jesus heard this, he was surprised at him. He turned and said to the crowd that followed him, “I tell you, I have not even found such faith in Israel!”
Luk 7:10 So when those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the bond-servant well.

positioned under authority

Authority in the kingdom of God is never about standing over others but about standing under the One who sends you. The Centurion understood this instinctively. He lived his entire life inside a chain of command. When he said he was “a man under authority,” he wasn’t downplaying his power—he was explaining the source of it. His commands carried weight because he himself lived in obedience. His authority flowed from his alignment.

That is why his encounter with Jesus is so striking. He recognized in Jesus the same pattern he knew from his own world, but on an infinitely higher plane. Jesus wasn’t a wandering healer improvising miracles. He was the Son who lived in perfect submission to the Father. Every word He spoke carried the weight of heaven because He never acted independently, never stepped outside the will of the One who sent Him. The Centurion saw that alignment and immediately understood: if Jesus gives an order, the universe obeys.

This is why he didn’t need Jesus to come to his house. He didn’t need a ritual, a gesture, or a physical presence. He simply needed the word of the One who lived under the Father’s authority. A command issued from that place would accomplish what it declared. The Centurion trusted the structure of the kingdom more than the mechanics of the miracle.

And that is where the story presses into our own lives. Obedience is not a grim duty or a spiritual performance. It is the posture that aligns us with the life and power of God. When we place ourselves under His authority—when we listen, yield, and respond—we are not diminishing ourselves. We are stepping into the flow of His purposes. Our prayers begin to carry a different weight, not because we have mastered techniques, but because our hearts are synchronized with His will. We speak out of relationship, not presumption. We ask from a place of trust, not anxiety.

LORD, shape in us the same obedience that marked Your Son, so that our prayers rise from lives aligned with You and accomplish what You desire. Make us people under Your authority, so that Your power can move through us to bring healing, mercy, and hope into the world.

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flood insurance

Posted on January 27, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

marmsky devotions pics January 2017 (27)

ARE YOU COVERED?

Luke 6:46-49

Luk 6:46 “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and don’t do what I am telling you?
Luk 6:47 “Everyone who comes to me and listens to my words and puts them into practice– I will show you what he is like:
Luk 6:48 He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep, and laid the foundation on bedrock. When a flood came, the river slammed against that house but could not shake it, because it had been well built.
Luk 6:49 But the person who hears and does not put my words into practice is like a man who built a house on the bare ground without a foundation. When the river burst against that house, it collapsed immediately, and was completely destroyed!”

flood insurance

Jesus had just finished drawing a sharp contrast between the genuine disciple and the hypocrite. A good tree produces good fruit; a heart shaped by grace produces words shaped by devotion. But Jesus refuses to let His disciples hide behind that simple illustration. He immediately presses deeper with the unsettling question in verse 46: “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?”

In other words, confession alone is not flood insurance. Saying the right words does not secure the foundation. Calling Jesus “Lord” without obeying Him is like admiring the architect while refusing to build according to the blueprint. It looks spiritual on the surface, but it collapses under pressure.

And the pressure will come. Jesus doesn’t say if the flood comes—He says when. The dam will burst. The storm will hit. The waters will rise. And when they do, the only people who stand firm are those whose lives have been shaped by obedience, not merely by profession. They love God and their neighbors. They forgive. They give. They serve. They make disciples. Their faith is not theoretical; it is practiced, lived, embodied.

But there are always those who are devastated by the flood—people who assumed that saying the right words was enough, and then resent God when the storm exposes the weakness of their foundation. They wanted Jesus’ protection without Jesus’ way of life. They wanted the benefits of the kingdom without the obedience that makes the kingdom real.

Jesus’ point is not that we earn salvation by our works. His point is that obedience is the evidence of a life truly anchored in Him. The “payments” of this flood insurance are not rituals or achievements—they are daily acts of trust, daily choices to put His words into practice, daily steps of faith that build a foundation no storm can shake.

LORD, we resolve from this day forward to practice the faith we profess, and trust You to keep us safe when disaster strikes.

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indicators of authenticity

Posted on January 26, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

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WHAT DO WE PRODUCE?

Luke 6:43-45

Luk 6:43 “Because no right tree bears wrong fruit, nor again does a useless tree bear the right fruit,
Luk 6:44 because each tree is known by its own fruit. Because figs are not gathered from briers, nor are grapes picked from thornbushes.
Luk 6:45 The right person out of the right treasury of his heart produces a right product, and the wrong person out of his wrong treasury produces a wrong product, because his mouth speaks from what fills his heart.

indicators of authenticity

Jesus is not denying that unbelievers can speak truth. They can. Sometimes they speak it with clarity that even believers fail to show. But that is not His point in this passage. He is preparing His listeners for the piercing question that follows: “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?” Words alone are not the measure of a disciple. Words can reveal the heart, but they can also disguise it. They can be sincere, or they can be hollow. They can be the overflow of faith, or the camouflage of pretense.

The principle Jesus lays down is simple and searching: those who claim to be His disciples should reflect His teaching in their lives. Respect for Jesus should lead to obedience to Jesus. Reverence should lead to repentance. Confession should lead to transformation. If the fruit is missing, the root must be questioned.

This is not meant to crush us but to awaken us. If our lives are not producing the kind of fruit Jesus describes—mercy, generosity, forgiveness, purity, integrity—then the solution is not to pretend harder or speak louder. It is to seek a deeper, truer relationship with Christ. Authentic discipleship is not measured by how well we say the right things, but by how deeply His life has taken root in us.

Our words matter. They reveal something real. But they are not always a reliable indicator of authenticity. The true test is whether our lives echo the One we call Lord.

LORD, make us true disciples, saying and doing what You want.

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the beam we have

Posted on January 25, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

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THE ENEMY INSIDE

Luke 6:39-42

Luk 6:39 He also told them a parable: “Someone who is blind cannot lead another who is blind, can he? Won’t they both fall into a pit?
Luk 6:40 A disciple is not greater than his teacher, but everyone when fully trained will be like his teacher.
Luk 6:41 Why do you find the speck in your brother’s eye, but fail to find the beam of wood in your own?
Luk 6:42 How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me remove the speck from your eye,’ while you yourself can’t find the beam in your own? You hypocrite! First remove the beam from your own eye, and then you can see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

the beam we have

Jesus’ image of the beam and the speck is intentionally exaggerated, almost humorous—because it exposes something painfully true about the human heart. You would think that having a beam lodged in your own eye would be so debilitating, so blinding, so uncomfortable that removing it would become your first priority. But it isn’t. Instead, we fixate on the speck in someone else’s eye. Their flaw feels more urgent than our own. Their wrongness feels more offensive than our sin. Their mistake feels like something we must correct.

The tragedy is that this instinct doesn’t come from righteousness. It comes from avoidance. It is easier to diagnose someone else’s sin than to confront the sin that lives in us. It is easier to condemn an external enemy than to face the internal one. And Jesus knows that as long as we stay preoccupied with the speck in our brother’s eye, the beam in our own eye grows heavier, darker, and more destructive.

This is why Jesus directs His words especially to the poor, the oppressed, the mistreated—the very people who had every reason to focus on the wrongs done to them. He tells them to stop centering their lives around the sins of others and to deal first with the sin within. Not because the injustice against them doesn’t matter, but because the enemy inside is the one that can destroy the soul. The more we obsess over external enemies, the more blind we become to the internal one.

Jesus’ call is not a denial of real harm. It is a call to spiritual clarity. You cannot fight the darkness around you if you ignore the darkness within you. You cannot heal the world while refusing to let God heal your heart. You cannot overcome evil out there if you are feeding the evil in here.

The path to transformation always begins with repentance. The path to freedom always begins with honesty. The path to holiness always begins with the courage to face the enemy inside.

LORD, give us the courage to tackle the enemy inside, and the strength to resist being distracted by the enemies outside.

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change through embarrassment

Posted on January 24, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

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ARE WE SEEKING CHANGE GOD’S WAY?

Luke 6:37-38

Luk 6:37 “Do not criticise, and you will not be criticised; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven.
Luk 6:38 Give, and it will be given to you: A good amount, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be poured into your lap. Because the amount you use will be the amount you receive.”

change through embarrassment

Jesus’ commands to His poor, oppressed disciples were nothing like the rhetoric of a revolutionary calling for violent overthrow. He did not stir them to vengeance or encourage them to reclaim what had been taken from them. Instead, He offered a path so unexpected, so counter‑intuitive, that it exposed the poverty of every human strategy for justice. He told them to shame their oppressors not through retaliation, but through quiet endurance. To forgive those who mistreated them. To give to those who demanded from them. To respond to injustice with a generosity that made no earthly sense.

This was not passivity. It was prophetic resistance. It was a way of exposing evil by refusing to mirror it. When the oppressed respond with grace, the cruelty of the oppressor becomes unmistakably visible. When the mistreated refuse to retaliate, the injustice of the system is laid bare. Jesus was teaching His disciples to overcome evil not by matching its methods, but by revealing its emptiness.

And He did not leave them without hope. He promised that whatever was taken from them unjustly would be restored—measure for measure—by the Lord Himself. The repayment might not come in this lifetime. It might not come until “that day,” the day of the kingdom’s unveiling, the day when every wrong is reversed and every tear is answered. But the promise stands: nothing stolen in injustice will remain stolen forever. God Himself will settle the accounts.

This is the faith Jesus calls us into. A faith that trusts God’s justice more than our own instincts. A faith that believes the kingdom is coming, even when the world seems unchanged. A faith that chooses the path of Christ over the path of retaliation. A faith that waits—not passively, but faithfully—until the One who promised justice brings it to completion.

LORD, give us the courage to follow Your path to change.

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because he is kind

Posted on January 23, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

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LOVING BEYOND THE NORMAL EXPECTATION

Luke 6:32-36

Luk 6:32 “If you love the ones who are loving you, what kind of grace is that for you? Because even sinners love the ones who are loving them.
Luk 6:33 And if you do good to the ones who are doing good to you, what kind of grace is that for you? Even sinners do the same.
Luk 6:34 And if you lend to those from whom you hope to be repaid, what kind of grace is that for you? Even sinners lend to sinners, so that they may be repaid in full.
Luk 6:35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to ungrateful and evil people.
Luk 6:36 Be merciful, in the same way that your Father is merciful.

because he is kind

Jesus calls His followers to a love that doesn’t merely imitate the best of human kindness but surpasses it. Every society, no matter how broken, carries traces of God’s common grace—parents caring for children, neighbors helping neighbors, communities rallying in times of crisis. Even religions far from the gospel still echo fragments of God’s truth about compassion, justice, and generosity. But Jesus insists that His people must go further. Our love cannot simply match the world’s best impulses. It must stretch beyond them.

That’s why He speaks of going the second mile, turning the other cheek, giving without expecting return. These are not random acts of moral heroism. They are reflections of the Father’s heart—the “sky Father” whose kindness is not limited to the deserving. He sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. He pours out patience on those who ignore Him. He extends mercy to those who misuse His gifts. His love is not calculated; it is extravagant. Not cautious; but costly. Not common; but uncommon.

And because we bear His name, our love must carry that same shape. It must push the envelope. It must cross the boundaries of what is reasonable, expected, or reciprocated. It must look like something that cannot be explained apart from God. Sacrificial love is not natural; it is supernatural. It is the Spirit’s work in us, enabling us to love in ways that reflect the kingdom we belong to rather than the world we live in.

This is the kind of love that makes the gospel visible. When we love beyond what is normal, people begin to see the Father behind the children. When we forgive beyond what is deserved, they glimpse the cross. When we give beyond what is comfortable, they sense the generosity of heaven. When we bless beyond what is expected, they encounter the grace that has first encountered us.

LORD, show us how to love beyond the normal expectation.

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reverse Robin Hoods

Posted on January 22, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

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WHY WE CAN LOVE OUR ENEMIES

Luke 6:27-31

Luk 6:27 “But I am telling you who are listening: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,
Luk 6:28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.
Luk 6:29 To the person who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other as well, and from the person who takes away your coat, do not hold back your tunic either.
Luk 6:30 Give to everyone who asks you, and do not ask for your possessions back from the person who takes them away.
Luk 6:31 Treat others in the same way that you would want them to treat you.

reverse Robin Hoods

Jesus had just drawn a stark picture of the world: the haves and the have‑nots, the comfortable and the desperate, the satisfied and the hungry. And He had placed His disciples squarely among the have‑nots—not to shame them, but to assure them that their present lack was not the final chapter. Their future in God’s kingdom would overturn every earthly disadvantage. They were to rejoice, not because poverty is pleasant, but because the kingdom would reverse their fortunes forever.

But then comes the surprising turn. Instead of urging these faithful poor to rise up against their oppressors, to demand justice, or to reclaim what had been taken from them, Jesus tells them to do the opposite. Love your enemies. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who mistreat you. Give to those who take from you. In other words, be a reverse Robin Hood—give to the very people who have taken from you.

Why would anyone live like that? Why would the oppressed bless their oppressors? Why would the poor give to the rich? Why would the wounded pray for the ones who caused the wounds?

Because Jesus’ followers believe His promise. They believe that the kingdom is coming. They believe that the have‑nots will one day become the haves, that the mourners will be comforted, that the hungry will be filled, that the overlooked will be honored. They believe that God Himself will set everything right. And when you trust that future, you are free in the present. You can afford to be generous. You can afford to bless. You can afford to give without fear of running out. You can afford to love even those who do not deserve it.

This is the context of the golden rule—not a vague moral ideal, but a kingdom ethic rooted in the certainty of God’s coming restoration. Treat others the way you wish to be treated in the kingdom that is on its way. Live now as someone who knows what is coming. Let future joy shape present generosity.

Only people who believe Jesus’ promises can live this way. Only people who trust the coming kingdom can bless those who harm them. Only people who know they will inherit everything can give anything away.

LORD, show us how to bless, pray, and give like those who will inherit Your kingdom.

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reversal of fortune

Posted on January 21, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

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WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO LOSE?

Luke 6:24-26

Luk 6:24 “But trouble is coming to you who are rich, because you have received your comfort already.
Luk 6:25 “Trouble is coming to you who are well filled with food now, because you will be hungry. “Trouble is coming to you who laugh now, because you will mourn and weep.
Luk 6:26 “Trouble is coming to you when all the people speak well of you, because their ancestors did the same things to the false prophets.

reversal of fortune

This reflection captures something essential about Jesus’ ministry and the human heart, and it’s worth lingering over it just a little longer.

Jesus was speaking to people who had inherited a rich spiritual legacy—centuries of covenant, worship, and divine calling. But the legacy had become hollow. They carried the history of holiness without the practice of it. They could recite loyalty to God, but their lives were shaped far more by comfort, wealth, and social standing than by devotion. Their trust had shifted from God to the things God had given. So Jesus warned them of a coming reversal—a day when the illusions of security would collapse, and the true condition of every heart would be revealed.

That warning was not meant to shame them. It was meant to save them. Jesus used the very thing they feared—loss—to awaken them to what they lacked. Even the wealthy worry about losing what they have, and Jesus leveraged that anxiety to point them toward a kingdom that cannot be shaken. He wasn’t attacking wealth; He was exposing misplaced trust. He was calling them back to the God they had forgotten.

In contrast, the disciples had none of the comforts their society admired. They lived with uncertainty, hunger, and hardship. But they possessed something infinitely greater: they had Christ. They had staked their entire future on Him. Their hope was not in what they could hold but in the One who held them. And that made them truly rich.

This contrast still stands today. The dividing line is not between those who have money and those who don’t. It is between those who trust in what they have and those who trust in Christ. Wealth can evaporate. Comfort can crumble. Status can disappear. But the hope Christ gives is untouchable. Eternal. Secure.

So the question Jesus asked then is the question that still matters now: Do you have that relationship? Is your life anchored in something you cannot lose?

If you belong to Christ, then your future is not fragile. Your joy is not temporary. Your hope is not at risk. You have been given something the world cannot take away.

LORD, thank you for giving us what we cannot lose: eternal hope in You.

Posted in contentment, discipleship, eternal life, evangelism, relationship with God | Tagged | 1 Comment

because of that day

Posted on January 20, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

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THE SECRET TO CHRISTIAN JOY

Luke 6:20-23

Luk 6:20 Then he raised his eyes toward his disciples and said: “You who are poor are actually blessed, because the kingdom of God belongs to you.
Luk 6:21 “You who hunger now are actually blessed, because you will be full. “You who weep now are actually blessed, because you will laugh.
Luk 6:22 “When people hate you, you are blessed, and when they exclude you and insult you and reject you as evil on account of the Son of Man!
Luk 6:23 Rejoice because of that day, and jump for joy, because your reward in the sky is great. Because their ancestors did the same things to the prophets.

because of that day

Christian joy has never been rooted in present circumstances. It doesn’t rise and fall with bank accounts, health reports, or the approval of others. Its source is deeper, stronger, and anchored in something the world cannot touch. The secret of Christian joy is Christian hope—the unshakable certainty that Christ will return, set all things right, and establish His kingdom forever. That future is not wishful thinking; it is the promised destination of God’s people. And because that day is coming, we can speak of blessing even when life feels thin.

Some of us may be poor, yet we call ourselves blessed because poverty is temporary and the kingdom is eternal. Some of us may go hungry at times, yet we praise God for His fullness because we know a feast is coming that no famine can interrupt. Some of us endure hatred, insults, and persecution, and still we rejoice—not because the pain is pleasant, but because the pain is passing. The world’s wounds are real, but they are not final. They do not get the last word.

Hope changes the way we interpret everything. It allows us to look at suffering without despair, to look at injustice without surrender, to look at loss without being undone. Hope does not deny the hurt; it simply refuses to let the hurt define the horizon. The horizon belongs to Christ. The kingdom belongs to Christ. And because we belong to Christ, joy belongs to us.

This is why Jesus could say, “Rejoice and leap for joy.” Not because the present is easy, but because the future is certain. The day is coming when Christ will return, when every wrong will be reversed, when every tear will be dried, when every wound will be healed, when every faithful heart will be filled with a joy that cannot fade. That day is our anchor. That day is our confidence. That day is our hope.

And hope—true, Christian hope—always produces joy.

LORD, thank you for that coming day: our hope.

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when power comes

Posted on January 19, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

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ARE WE PREACHING THE FULL GOSPEL?

Luke 6:17-19

Luk 6:17 Then he came down with them and stood on a level place. And a large number of his disciples had gathered along with a vast multitude from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon. They came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases,
Luk 6:18 and those who suffered from unclean spirits were cured.
Luk 6:19 The whole crowd was trying to touch him, because power was coming out from him and healing them all.

when power comes

The healing and deliverance people experienced in the ministry of Jesus were never meant to stand alone as isolated acts of compassion. They were demonstrations—visible, undeniable signs that His words carried the authority of heaven. The crowds came to hear Him, and in the very act of listening, they found themselves restored. His miracles were not distractions from His message; they were confirmations of it. They showed that the kingdom He proclaimed was not theoretical but breaking into the world in real time.

And that hasn’t changed. The Holy Spirit has not retired. The age of miracles has not been sealed off in a museum of ancient wonders. God still restores, still heals, still delivers. But Scripture is clear: the power of God is tied to the message of God. When the church proclaims a diluted gospel—one trimmed of its warnings, softened of its urgency, or reshaped to fit cultural comfort—it should not be surprised when its message carries little power. A half‑gospel cannot produce whole transformation.

Jesus preached that God is restoring His kingdom to the earth and that humanity must be ready for that kingdom. He preached repentance, allegiance, surrender, and hope. He preached judgment as well as mercy. He preached that those who refuse God’s reign will face destruction, not because God delights in it, but because rejecting the King means rejecting the life He brings. That message is not easy for modern ears. Many prefer a gospel that affirms without confronting, comforts without correcting, and blesses without calling for change.

But a gospel stripped of its sharp edges loses its ability to cut chains. A gospel edited for positivity loses its power to save. The good news is only good because it tells the truth about our condition and the truth about God’s remedy. When we proclaim the full message—its hope and its warning, its joy and its gravity—the Holy Spirit confirms it with power. Lives change. Hearts awaken. Miracles happen. The kingdom advances.

The church does not need a safer gospel. It needs a truer one. And when we preach what Christ preached, we can expect the Spirit to do what the Spirit has always done.

LORD, give us the courage to preach the full gospel: its positive and negative words.

Posted in balance, deliverance, evangelism, gospel, miracles | Tagged | Leave a comment